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Peter J. McKinnon, PhD

Departments

Contact Information

Education

PhD - The Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide

Research Interests

Molecular neurobiology

Mouse models of human disease

Brain tumors

Neutodegeneration

Tumor suppressors

Our goal is to understand the role of the DNA damage response in the nervous system, and how this functions to prevent disease. The response to genotoxic stress is a prerequisite for development of the nervous system. Mutations in a variety of DNA damage-response factors can lead to human diseases that are characterized by pronounced neuropathology. In many of these syndromes the neurological component is amongst the most deleterious aspects of the disease. Because the nervous system poses a particular challenge in terms of clinical intervention, understanding how DNA repair deficiency impacts the nervous system will be important for design of therapies targeted at ameliorating neuropathology including neurodegeneration and brain tumors.

General overview of current work in the lab:

1. ATM signaling: ATM is a serine/threonine kinase important for neural homeostasis. This kinase is primarily important for responding to DNA breaks that occur during development of the nervous system. Defects in each can lead to human syndromes with pronounced neuropathology. We are working to understand the role of ATM in the nervous system and how it functions to prevent neurodevelopmental defects. More information about ATM signaling.

2. DNA strand break repair: DNA damage can lead to a variety of DNA lesions including DNA double-strand or single-strand breaks, and a failure to respond to either type of strand breaks underpins a variety of human neurodegenerative syndromes. Our work aims to understand the specific spatiotemporal requirements for these repair pathways during development and maintenance of the nervous system, and how these repair pathways are coordinated to prevent various neurological diseases. More information about DNA strand break repair.

3. DNA damage and brain tumors: There is an increasing link between defective responses to DNA damage and tumorigenesis. In many human DNA repair syndrome cancer is a common event. Our studies on DNA repair in the nervous system has also directly linked failed repair with brain tumors. Ongoing work in the lab aims at understanding how DNA repair defects contribute to different types of brain tumors, and how these brain tumor models can be used to develop therapeutic agents to treat brain malignancies. More information about DNA damage and brain tumors.